God's plan for Israel did not fail. Israel means, theologically, the elect of God according to His purpose. It does not include all of those who are
Jewish by natural descent. That's Romans
9. Romans 10 involves the other side of
the coin: faith and belief. In the first
blog I identified a number of contrasts that Paul engages in. In this blog we look at the “righteousness
that is by the law” (v. 5) with “the righteousness that is by faith” (v. 6). Thus we read:
“For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law,
that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. But the
righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend
into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into
the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does
it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the
word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that
Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you
will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the
mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10:5–10, ESV).
Paul is going to explain his points by
referring to the Old Testament. This of
course was his Scripture and it was, at the very least, regarded so by his
readers. He takes us first to Leviticus 18:5 (ESV),
"5 You shall
therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live
by them: I am the Lord.
" Paul's point is to affirm that any
righteousness that we can claim that comes from the law, is the result of
"doing" the law. That
principle is firmly established. "The
righteousness which is of the law taught men to do and live. But the
righteousness which is by faith teaches men to believe and live (10:6)."[1] Paul emphasizes this in his
letter to the Galatian churches: “But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall
live by them.”” (Galatians 3:12, ESV).
"To explain the opposite kind of righteousness, the kind that comes by
faith, Paul cites language drawn from Deuteronomy 30:12–14[2]
(vv. 6–8). He quotes lines from that text and then applies them to Christ or to
the gospel."[3] "There is no need to travel to heaven to bring Christ to earth, for
God has already sent him into the world. Nor should anyone think they must bring
Christ up from the realm of the dead, for God has raised Christ from the dead.
What God requires is not superhuman works but faith in the gospel Paul
preaches."[4]
So Paul takes this Old Testament account
that refers to the Law and applies it to faith in Christ. The same accessibility that is promised
regarding the law is also promised regarding faith in Christ. In Deuteronomy 30:14 (ESV) we read, "14 But the word is very near you. It
is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it."
In verses 9 and 10 of Romans Paul draws these same elements (in reverse
order) into the Gospel:
“because, if you confess with your mouth
that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with
the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10:9–10, ESV) "'Jesus is Lord' was the earliest
declaration of faith fashioned by the church (Acts 2:36; 1Cor 12:3). This great
truth was recognized first by God in raising his Son from the dead—an act then
acknowledged by the church and one day to be acknowledged by all (Philippians
2:11)."[5]
To confess (ὁμολογέω [homologeo])
means to agree with God that His Son is Lord.
"Elsewhere in his letters, Paul associates Christ’s resurrection
with His lordship (Eph 1:19–22; Phil 2:9)."[6] So it would appear that the lordship of Christ is the critical
component to faith and belief. Robert
Haldane writes, "It should always
be remembered, that if he believes anything different from the testimony of God
relating to the person and work of the Savior, he does not believe the Gospel,
but something, whatever it may be, which can neither sanctify nor save."[7]
This is not a token,
intellectual assent to this reality. “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth
one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10:10, ESV).
Belief is the historicity of the resurrection is not the issue (although it is
certainly included). The issue is that
the resurrection of Jesus is the objective attestation to His Lordship. Confession
with the mouth and the life is evidence that one truly believes in this reality,
to the point that it is life-transforming.
"A man becomes righteous, perfectly righteous, through believing
God’s record concerning His Son. But the evidence that this faith is genuine is
found in the open confession of the Lord with the mouth in everything in which
His will is known."[8]
_____________________________________________
Previous Blogs on this topic:
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1
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Romans 9:30-33
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2
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Romans 10:1-4
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3
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Jesus is Lord
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Romans 10:5-9
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|
4
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[1] Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.).
(1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p.
2251). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[2] Paul is doing a unique work of exegesis
here. In "Deuteronomy exhibits
God’s salvation as achieved not by humanity’s strenuous efforts, but by divine
grace bringing it near. In particular, Deut. 30 sets this in the context of an
anticipated return from exile-judgment (Deut. 30:1–6). Paul sees this fulfilled
in the new covenant in Christ (Jer. 31:31–34, cf. 2 Cor. 3:7–18). Thus Christ
was the end (goal) of the Mosaic law." (Whitlock, L. G., Sproul, R. C.,
Waltke, B. K., & Silva, M. (1995). The
Reformation study Bible: bringing the light of the Reformation to Scripture:
New King James Version (Ro 10:6). Nashville: T. Nelson.) Again we see the hermeneutical principle
exemplified in Paul's inspired words.
Christ is the end of the Law and the redemptive motifs in the Old
Testament ultimately point to the New Covenant fulfillment.
[3] Moo, D. J. (2002). Encountering the book of Romans : a theological survey (p. 160).
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
[4] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (pp. 2174–2175).
Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[5] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis
CD-ROM:Romans/Exposition of Romans/VI. The Problem of Israel: God's
Righteousness Vindicated (9:1-11:36)/D. Israel's Failure to Attain
Righteousness Due to Reliance on Works Rather Than Faith (9:30-10:21), Book
Version: 4.0.2
[6] Barry, J. D., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M.,
Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife
Study Bible (Ro 10:9). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[7] Haldane, R. (1996). An exposition of Romans (electronic ed., p. 514). Simpsonville, SC:
Christian Classics Foundation.
[8] Haldane, R. (1996). An exposition of Romans (electronic ed., p. 516). Simpsonville, SC:
Christian Classics Foundation.
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